Peoria set for record winter

Peoria's in for a record-setting winter as this week's blizzard pushed snowfall totals to an all-time high for December through February.

And with nearly the entire month of February to go, it's likely the current total of 43.4 inches could top the snowiest winter ever, 1978-1979, when 51.6 inches of snow fell.

Andy Kravetz

It's official.

Peoria's in for a record-setting winter as this week's blizzard pushed snowfall totals to an all-time high for December through February.

And with nearly the entire month of February to go, it's likely the current total of 43.4 inches could top the snowiest winter ever, 1978-1979, when 51.6 inches of snow fell.

Combine that with bone-chilling cold Thursday, and it's been a memorable month so far. Just ask the children who were home from school for yet another day, in part because of sub-zero wind chills Thursday morning.

The temperature Thursday night was expected to dip down to 3 below zero. Mix in 10 mph winds and wind chills, and Friday morning's temperatures will range from 10 to 15 degrees below zero.

While Thursday was too cold for snowball fights, some people headed to Rainbow Play Systems of Central Illinois, 2322 W. Willow Knolls Drive. Some two dozen kids ran off their cabin fever in the company's showroom of swing sets, slides and other outdoor play sets.

"It's the best-kept secret," said owner Carl Lathrop, who charges $5 to let children go bonkers on the equipment. "We don't advertise and yet word of mouth brings them here."

Kathleen McGee of Peoria was one of those parents who brought her children there. St. Philomena school was closed for a third day, and McGee thought it was time for everyone to get out of the house.

"I told them it was too cold go out," she said, so the family made the trek to Rainbow Play Systems, their routine stop on cold or rainy days.

Mike Matheny of Peoria brought his twin 3-year-old boys so they could play with their nieces and nephews who were off school. While he did not think the day was that cold, he acknowledged the children wouldn't last that long. Sledding will have to wait until the weekend.

The previous snowfall high between Dec. 1 and the end of February was 42.5 inches, which was also set in 1978-1979, according to the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

"And we have all this month to go. We usually get a few inches of snow in March," said meteorologist Chris Geelhart. "If it didn't snow for the rest of the winter, we'd finish in fifth place" of all time.

Jim Angel, state climatologist with the State Water Survey, said the total for Tuesday and Wednesday exceeded the 100-year benchmark of 9.6 inches for a two-day storm. That term means there is a one in 100 chance of such a storm occurring, making it "an extremely rare event," he said.